A Bermudian-based company that aims to revolutionise the diamond industry is to have its long-awaited initial public offering tomorrow.

Diamond Standard will offer for sale 5,000 diamond standard coins at a cost of $5,000 each in the $25 million IPO.

Each coin contains a wireless computer chip that enables electronic auditing and instant authentication and also stores a blockchain token known as a BitCarbon Coin.

American entrepreneur Cormac Kinney is the founder and chief executive officer of Diamond Standard, and also leads sister company Bitcarbon Technologies Ltd, a Bermudian-based blockchain development outfit.

The Bermuda Monetary Authority, the offering regulator, issued a six-month license for Diamond Standard on December 31 that expires on June 30.

The allowed business activities under the license are “issuing, selling, or redeeming virtual coins, tokens, or any other form of digital assets”.

The license has been issued under Bermuda’s Digital Asset Business Act.

The diamond standard coin issuer is US-based Diamond Standard LLC, while the bitcarbon coin token issuer is Bermudian-based Diamond Standard Ltd.

Each coin will be equal in gemological content, Mr Kinney said. A diamond’s value is based on carat weight, colour and clarity; the coin adjusts for all those characteristics, he said.

The sales site for the IPO is the Diamond Standard website.

Mr Kinney spoke about his company’s plans at Bermuda Tech Week in 2019.

He said: “We are creating an interface between the digital and the physical, we are revolutionising the diamond industry and creating a new asset.”

For more information, see www.diamondstandard.co.